is a Japanese
pink film
refers in Japan to movies produced by independent studios that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. Many pink films would be a ...
, adult video (AV) actress and gravure model. In 2003, she was called one of Japan's highest-earning AV performers and "probably its most famous."
Many of her movies emphasized her large bust and thin body.
Life and career
Maria Yumeno was born in
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, Japan on August 17, 1978, according to her standard profiles
but an interview published in 2003 declares that the "24-year-old from Tokyo is in fact a 30-year-old from
Yamaguchi."
Yumeno comes from a broken family, as her father left when she was a child. After leaving school, she worked for a time as a graphic designer.
AV debut
As with many other AV actresses, Yumeno was found by a scout in Tokyo's
Shibuya
is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station.
As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...
district where the penniless Yumeno accepted an offer of a "modelling audition" to make money.
She made her debut in adult videos in late 1998 with the
h.m.p. release ''The Wild Bust''. Soon afterwards she appeared in a nude pictorial set for the Japanese men's magazine
Bejean.
Yumeno made several more videos in 1999 with h.m.p. and at the
1999 Tokyo Sports Film Awards, she was given the Best AV Actress Award. She went on to work with a number of other major AV studios of that period including
Crystal-Eizou,
CineMagic,
V&R Planning,
Kuki,
Atlas21 and
Alice Japan including making the
S&M themed ''Masochistic Room Service'' for Kuki in March 2000.
She also starred in some early S&M and bondage works for
Attackers.
Yumeno appeared in the erotic science fiction film ''
I.K.U.'', released in Japan in May, 2001, in the role of Reiko number 2. The movie had previously premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
in January 2000.
In October 2002, Yumeno starred in the
pink film
refers in Japan to movies produced by independent studios that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. Many pink films would be a ...
directed and written by
Daisuke Yamanouchi and released by Xces Film.
For a long time, there has been a connection between AV and the Japaneses wrestling community and on November 4, 2002, Yumeno made her pro wrestling debut participating in a Women's Erotic Wrestling (WEW) match in Yokohama. In April and May 2003, she also took part in live action hardcore erotic wrestling matches for Adult Video Wrestling (AVW) with the losers having sex with the referees and others. Also participating were AV actors
Taka Kato and
Chocoball Mukai (a former professional wrestler). A six-hour video, ''AVW Fuck Down!'', was released in June 2003.
Retirement and comeback
Yumeno's interview published in September 2003 states that she had retired from the adult video industry a few months earlier.
However, she continued acting in mainstream films including the October 2003 horror film where she played a
zombie
A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...
maid.
Yumeno also had a role in the
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
-based live action film version of released in October 2004. In a voice role, Yumeno played the lead character, Rina, in the adult
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
OVA which came out in Japan in October 2004. ''Dark Tours'' was released in the United States in August 2006 with English subtitles and/or dubbing.
In 2005, Yumeno appeared with fellow AV actresses Hitomi Hayasaka, Naho Ozawa and Ran Monbu as well as AV actor
Chocoball Mukai in the erotic comedy film , which had its debut at the
Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival
The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Fil ...
in February 2005 and was later shown theatrically in Tokyo in August 2005. The film, starring
gravure idol
A model is a person with a Role (disambiguation), role either to display commercial product (business), products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an Model (art), artist's model.
Modelling ("modeling" in British and ...
Miku Matsumoto, was subsequently released on DVD.
Yumeno was back performing in adult videos in December 2005 with ''Super Bust Female Doctor'' for "mature woman" specialist studio
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
, followed by further mature videos, ''Voluptuous Mature Nakadashi'' for
Glory Quest in 2006 and ''Bewitching Lady'' for
Maxing Stargate in 2007. It can be noted that in Yumeno's profile from 2004, her bust measurement is listed as 93 cm (37 in.) but as of 2008 according to her official website, her bust was 115 cm (45 in.).
Yumeno had a role in the June 2008 theatrical drama directed by Hideyuki Katsuki. The film, fifth in the "Dekotora no shu" series, starred
Show Aikawa and also featured pink film actress
Junko Miyashita and former AV actress
Honoka.
She has continued to appear in occasional adult videos for the
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
studio and "mature woman" specialist
Goro Tameike and also works as a media personality or .
Partial filmography
Magazine appearances
* ''
Bejean''
** April 1999 (5p., nude)
* ''
Weekly Playboy
, also known as or ''WPB'', is a Japanese weekly magazine published by Shueisha since 1966. Although the magazine publishes a variety of news and special interest articles, columns, celebrity interviews, and manga, it is considered an adult maga ...
''
** June 6, 2000 (5p., nude)
** August 22–29, 2000 (1p., nude)
** December 26–31, 2000
** April 3, 2001 (7p., nude)
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Yumeno, Maria
1978 births
Living people
Japanese film actresses
Pink film actors
Japanese pornographic film actresses
Japanese female adult models
Japanese gravure idols
Actresses from Tokyo
Models from Tokyo